Showing 1 - 10 of 10
ASF scandal, pork prices hit govt credibility
Oped, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 18/01/2022
» The Prayut Chan-o-cha government has survived five waves of Covid-19 but it could finally be brought down sick by a swine virus.
If we can trust the bureaucracy, pigs might fly
Oped, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 11/01/2022
» Soaring pork prices are another indicator of a sinking bureaucracy, a system that's both inefficient and increasingly becoming untrustworthy.
Stuck in our own Orwellian nightmare
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 04/06/2019
» Go and read Animal Farm. Watch Inception too, as they may help us appreciate the multilayered paradoxes that are Thai politics today. After all the diversions, however, the reality remains that the 2017 constitution must be rewritten, or we will be forever stuck with "all votes are equal but some votes are more equal than others".
Stifled speech stunts plans for future
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 24/07/2018
» While all eyes were fixed on the dramatic Tham Luang cave rescue, the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) approved the 20-year national strategy in a unanimous 179-0 vote. Under the plan, with binding effects for future governments and penalties for non-compliance, Thailand will become a fair and equitable society by 2036.
Regime can buy time but not trust
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 30/01/2018
» 'What's the fuss about a delay of just 90 days?'' government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd fretted as the military regime faced criticism over yet another national poll delay.
Everybody's watching the 'Rolex general'
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 23/01/2018
» How much is Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwon worth? Is the military regime willing to bet the farm to save the scandalous "Rolex general" at all costs?
Regime in tight spot over paddy prices
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 01/11/2016
» Rice is becoming difficult to swallow for the military regime as it is saddled with the dilemma of taking former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to task for guaranteeing higher rice prices to farmers while avoiding doing the same thing she did as it tries to skirt accusations of ignoring the plight of farmers suffering from low rice prices.
Yingluck fine hurts public investment
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 27/09/2016
» Make no mistake, the rice-pledging scheme run by former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra was a public policy disaster. It was ill-conceived and recklessly implemented. Still, to force Ms Yingluck to pay for losses allegedly incurred by her government's policy seems unfair.
Has reform failed, or has it even begun?
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 23/06/2015
» Maybe it's the natural swing of the pendulum — what goes up must come down — and that explains why we have gone from fight-to-the-death battles against inequality a few years ago, to high-minded campaigns for national reform last year, to struggles against overpriced lotteries, motorcycle racers and the age-old question of whether casinos should be allowed to operate legally in Thailand now.
Dry dreams, wet country
News, Atiya Achakulwisut, Published on 31/01/2012
» I have no way of knowing whether international business leaders at Davos over the weekend bought the Thai prime minister's assurances that there will be no repeat of last year's flood crisis in Thailand. All I know is that my large and clunky treadmill machine still stands outside the house because water from last year's flooding is still lodged within its machinery, and I have no plans to clean it up and haul it back inside until I am confident there will be no more flooding.